Dolls and Puppets
by Winter's Harvest
Summary: In the heart of the old Kingdom remains the bad boy that plagues Kingdom Hospital. Mary's freedom is put off for a moment as the Guardian of the Dead pays a visit. (One-shot)


Miniscule rays of light waxed and waned upon the tarnished floor of the old kingdom. What little light there was had always been fleeting. _'And always will be.'_ The lanky figure in the middle of the floor reflected. _'Darkness for the dark. Light for the living. Punishment for the sinners. Glory for the angels. And, as always; shadows for the dead. Welcome to the kingdom.' _

The ghost of Paul Morlock was lounging against a fallen iron beam on the dusty floor, staring into space. If anyone had passed his morose form that night, they would've known instantly that he was lost in thoughts of the macabre. Because Paul always had had that certain look that portrayed his morbid mind at irregular intervals. Perhaps it was the way his shoulders were slouched forward, or his intense stare into the middle of the tile in front of him. Whatever the clue, one would have seen that this was not someone to disturb.

Especially not tonight. For tonight was the night he would set 'Steggy' loose upon the elderly Mrs. Druse and her séance party. What fun that could be, messing with a flesh-bag's mind. Corrupting his soul, toying with the brain. Good times, these were.

Except, good times and humor were not upon the miserable spirit tonight. Tonight his thoughts were fixated upon little Mary's freedom. The liberation of Mary Jensen's poor, mistreated soul; as Mrs. D. most certainly would have put it. What put him in this horrid state of mind was partially due to the most irritating fact that his plans had been thwarted. Mary was getting her freedom. He wasn't. She even had a guide. A freaking guardian anteater for crying out loud! And what did he have? Not much, just the crazed remains of a doctor who had taken his grandfather's work and toyed with it. He sighed. Perhaps it was jealousy snapping at his muted heartstrings. Paul didn't feel much, as the dead are excepted to, but every now and then an ebbing of actual emotion would encase him. He would shake it off and go about his business. Emotions were for the ones able to bleed.

A bell sounded down the vaulted corridor. Paul felt himself tense. Mary was off to meet the living for the last time. Antubis was showing the way. '_Figures. God of the dead, lighting the path for the fallen. Damn. At least he won't be back, after she's gone.'_

"You'll be gone too, you know."

Paul didn't even twitch. He could feel the other's presence down the hall.

"The guardian anteater, himself. To what do I owe this occasion?"

Anubis' gaze pierced his back, between the Morlock boy's shoulder blades.

"Take a guess."

Paul felt a horrid smirk tighten on his lips. So Ant-boy knew, after all. Paul turned to face the aardvark, but met a mirror image instead. Except where his blackened mouth held a vicious curve, the pale reflection remained stony and serious.

"Guess? It's not like you to play games." His smirk faded and his tone grew dark. "I should know."

"I know about your bondage situation."

Whatever scowl was upon Paul's face at the time manifested itself into a malevolent grin. His dead green eyes glittered with amusement.

"Bondage situation? Is that what we're calling it now?"

A low rumble of laughter escaped his throat, wicked pitch in every note.

"Bondage situation. I like that." He chuckled again. Toying with Ant-boy could be fun.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

The black-clad male remained silent and intense. Paul noticed.

"As I thought. All mighty, powerful Antubis can do nothing to free the twisted, evil Paul Morlock."

Dead eyes met livid ones. The spirit's voice lowered to a whisper as he circled his current source of entertainment.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Anubis tensed slightly. The wicked hissing in his ear was not a good thing. However, time was short and there were many things to be done tonight. Not only was Mary's freedom on the line, his was as well.

He followed the lanky form with his eyes, taking in every step and stance Ghost-boy took. If time were on his side, he would take care of the menace personally; but he had to turn back time once tonight and he needed his energy for that. Antubis straightened himself and looked Morlock in the eye.

"I wouldn't know. I'd have to talk to Mary about pain."

This was not the response Paul was wanting. He frowned and glared at his doppelganger head on.

"Talking to another twisted soul, Ant-boy; this is not your night."

"That is not for you to decide."

Paul straightened for a moment, almost as lost in thought as when he was first found. Dark eyes traced invisible patterns in the tile before returning to his enemy.

"So if your not here to talk politics, Ant-boy; why are you here?"

"To warn you not to try anything foolish. You know messing with mortals during times of in-between worlds is dangerous to all worlds."

"Warn me? I think not. Maybe I should let you in on a little secret."

Paul drew near to his apparent twin. Both sets of eyes sparked in the dark light.

"Where you have your doll, I have my puppet. Remember that, Ant-boy."

Antubis felt a sudden pulse of energy and leapt out of the way as Paul fired a bolt of dead lightening into the hall. He rebounded and sent to spirit of the second great fire into the wall. Muttering curses, Paul remained in the shadow until Anubis had left.

Emerging from the wall, evil notions swimming before him. Paul looked at his clenched fist, to the dark hallway he had haunted for the longest time. His voice portrayed his intentions as he set off down the hall.

"Come out Steggy, it's time to play."

* * *

AN- I hope you liked it. If not, let me know. If so, talk to me. Any questions, queries, or quarrels? Leave a review.

Disclaimer- I do not own Kingdom Hospital or Stephen King. I'm not making money off of them. So there.


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